Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

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Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen are facing federal criminal corruption charges for accepting massive bribes and kickbacks from a campaign contributor and they are offering a very unusual defense: They couldn’t have been in cahoots on this because their marriage was falling apart — and she was crushing on the guy giving all the money and gifts.[Read more…]

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When the Hobby Lobby ruling came down a few weeks ago, I quickly pointed out that this could be a boon to Democrats in this year’s midterm elections. A new poll provides support for that claim, showing a significant majority of women less likely to support someone who supported Hobby Lobby’s position in the case.[Read more…]

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Terri Lynn Land, former Michigan Secretary of State and now a Republican candidate to replace the retiring Sen. Carl Levin, has contributed $3 million of her own money to her campaign. The problem? According to her personal financial filings, she doesn’t have that much money.[Read more…]

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We’re all used to hearing violent rhetoric from Republican candidates, but how about some from a Democrat? Estakio Beltran is running for the Democratic nomination for House seat in Washington and he released an ad showing him shooting an elephant-shaped pinata with a shotgun.[Read more…]

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One of the things you see all the time in politics, from both right and left, is the dishonest out-of-context quote. Here’s a textbook example that exploded on Thursday when Obama went to Texas to meet with officials there about the problem with immigrant children crossing the border. Here’s what Obama actually said:[Read more…]

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Jacob Heilbrunn has a column in the New York Times arguing that the neo-conservatives who have found such influence in the Republican party over the last 35 years are now preparing to embrace Hillary Clinton in a bid to keep that influence if she wins the White House.[Read more…]

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I have a $50 bet with a friend of mine who thinks Mitt Romney is going to run for the Republican presidential nomination again. We made that bet a few months ago and he quickly admitted it’s a long shot. But now a case is being made by a former Bush administration official that Romney should run again.[Read more…]

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I think this Hobby Lobby ruling really could end up blowing up in the faces of the Republicans and it could happen relatively soon. If the Democrats are smart, they should have campaign commercials on this issue running tomorrow, especially in key Senate races.[Read more…]

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The Republican Governors Association illegally sent nearly a million dollars from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson to a PAC for Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, who is floundering in his bid for reelection. It’s illegal because Adelson is an owner in a casino in that state.[Read more…]

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The running narrative of the midterm election primaries has been that the Tea Party is running out of gas. High-profile challengers from the right were losing most of the races. But then Thad Cochran lost his primary and was forced into a runoff and now House Majority Leader Eric Cantor got whipped in his primary and will lose his seat.[Read more…]

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In a rather astonishing turn of events, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to an omnibus spending bill that would order the DEA not to interfere with medical marijuana use and sale in states where it is legal. The vote was even relatively easy, 219-189.[Read more…]

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Howard Worthy is kind of a perpetual candidate for a spot in the state legislature in Michigan. In 2010 he ran for the state senate as a Democrat; in 2012 he ran for the state house. This year he’s running for the senate again and he’s filed for his candidate fundraising committee. You’re gonna love the name:[Read more…]

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Josh Kraushaar, editor of the National Journal, was wrong about the 2012 election. Really, really wrong. As in so wrong that he predicted a Romney victory. But he still feels qualified to criticize Nate Silver, who has absolutely nailed the last two presidential elections.[Read more…]

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Lorence Wenke is a very well known Republican legislator in the state of Michigan, having served three terms in the House. He’s now running for a seat in the state Senate, but he’s running as a Libertarian because he’s appalled by the GOP’s anti-gay politics.[Read more…]

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I don’t usually go for questions like that, but I’m having a hard time explaining the results of this survey without concluding that a significant number of Republicans don’t really favor a free market fix for health care so much as they just oppose people getting health care at all.[Read more…]